Welcome to "Stay Strong" - a site devoted to sharing and inspiring "Strength" in others and in ourselves! Strength of Spirit, Strength of Mind, Strength of Soul and Strength of Body! PLEASE pass this site onto others in need of Strength and Inspiration!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.
-Mary Anne Radmacher

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy, however stale these experiences may have become to others. -Abraham Maslow

Never let frustration or disappointment tarnish your appreciation for all that is good in life. Every day say Thank You to the source of all that is good. -JLH

There is an amazing scene in one of my all time favorite movies,"It's a Wonderful Life" where Jimmy Stewart's character George Bailey is bouncing around town giddy with excitement as he is about to embark on an overseas trip that he has dreamed of since he was a boy.

It is safe to say that the idea of traveling abroad was to young George Bailey a passion, purpose, dream and a mission. Since he knew what travel meant he made it his life long pursuit and goal and it drove and consumed him!!

Well, in this scene this day had finally come and he exuded joy, enthusiasm, excitement, and barely contained his glee as he was about to begin his dream!!

This dream was put on hold due to his father's sudden illness and passing and going George, instead of taking the easy route and pushing forward with his dream with little regard for others decided to do the "RIGHT THING" and postpone his trip to take over the family business.

I am sure we all know the rest of the story in this amazing timeless classic.

George never realizes his dream of traveling abroad, even when given the opportunity to do so by the evil Mr. Potter. He is "stuck" in his life, his dad's fledgling business, his sleepy town while his friends get wealthy, and his brother becomes a war hero.

He is thrust into a situation whereby he attempts to take his own life instead of face the ruin and humiliation that he feels will result from the problem he faces.

But guess what??

Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!

That does not occur and he is saved by an Angel, Clarence, sent by God to show George how truly blessed, special, wealthy, and fortunate he was to have the life he was living.

What makes this Christmas time classic special to me is multi pronged:

We all feel that we can do better, live better, have more, expect more from our lives and I am certain that all of us at some point has been young George Bailey - filled with dreams and expectations, excited about the future, disappointed by life and life's battles, twists and turns.

Faced with seemingly unsolvable problems where there is no light at the end of the tunnel, no hope, no possible way we see our way to joy, happiness, and light!

Some of us may be on that proverbial bridge George found himself on, with no solutions in mind and bad thoughts in our heads as to the only way out of it.

And then BAM!!!!

What happens??

We pray. We change our thoughts and mindset. We ask for help and guidance.

And help arrives!!!!!

We are shown, as George is in the end, that what we have going on, despite the pain, worry, disappointments and setbacks, despite the seeming lack of a way out or no hope in sight, what we have in our lives - all of us--- is a BLESSING!!!

GOD responds to our cries for help, NEVER abandons us, Never leaves us to battle alone!! We may not see it right away, but it is True!

Friends and family arrive like the cavalry to our side and get us through whatever it is we are battling!!!

This is what I love about this story!!

George is indeed the richest man in town and not even Potter's bank account, or Hee Haw Sam Wainwright's wealth can eclipse that in value!!

And so are we!!!

So many of us do not reflect enough on what matters in life and what is true "success" and it is up to all of us to point these out to our brethren so they too may have that Wonderful Life experience in their lives!!!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Comfort on difficult days, Smiles when sadness intrudes, Rainbows to follow the clouds, Laughter to kiss your lips, Sunsets to warm your heart, Hugs when spirits sag, Beauty for your eyes to see, Friendships to brighten your being, Faith so that you can believe, Confidence for when you doubt, Courage to know yourself, Patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.

Comfort on difficult days, Smiles when sadness intrudes, Rainbows to follow the clouds, Laughter to kiss your lips, Sunsets to warm your heart, Hugs when spirits sag, Beauty for your eyes to see, Friendships to brighten your being, Faith so that you can believe, Confidence for when you doubt, Courage to know yourself, Patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.

The very quality and characteristic that the Cowardly Lion so desired and sought after is indeed an elusive state to achieve for many of us.

The funny thing about courage is that, more often than not, we do not have the opportunity to display it until the moment is upon us!

It is difficult to prepare to be Courageous, to be ready to be courageous when the time comes.

I also believe that you can learn courage through self-inflection, prayer, and a complete grasp of the person you either are or want to be.

When I think of courageous acts, many come to mind -- the young dissident stopping the Chinese tank outside of Tiananman Square, the firefighters resonding to the terrorist attack at the World Trade Centers on 9/11, our military heroes deployed in various war zones throught the planet!

These are all famous and glaring examples of courageous acts indeed!

However, courageous acts do not always have to be on grand scales or televised. There are quiet, demure heroes committing extreme acts of courage every day and we often do not see them.

I recall an evening back in circa 1977 when I was about 10 years old. My Mom, Dad and I were stopped at a light in my hometown in Massachusetts. It was dark out and probably like 8 or 8:30pm.

Directly to our left on the sidewalk was a group of teenagers and it became clear to the three of us very quickly that this group of 4 or 5 kids was picking on one other kid.

As we waited for the light to turn green, I could see my father witnessing what was taking place about 100 feet from our car.

The 5 bullies were punching and kicking the one other boy and I could see my father's mind churning.

Here he had his 10 year old son and wife in the front seat of the family car, in traffic at a stop light. Just outside the car he had a defenseless young man whom he did not know being beaten and assaulted by a cowardly gang of bullies.

Then the light turned green.

My dad, visibly angry and torn between the safety of his family and the wrong that was being done to the young man, ripped off his glasses and threw them on the dashboard.

"Do not get out of this car and lock it behind me", he barked at my Mom and me.

This man of 50 plus years of age immediately leapt out of the car and rushed over to the young man in distress and began yelling at the group of bulllies.

Clearly outnumbered by these jerks, my Dad began grabbing them one by one by the back of their jackets and shirts and pulled the vctim off the ground.

The bullies had to be stunned by his actions as they stared in disbelief at this middle aged man yelling at them, chastising their actions and showing absolutely no fear in coming to this boy's aid.

I watched my dad pointing his fingers at the cowards and dragging the battered and beaten boy back to our car where he threw him into the back of our now hastily unlocked car and backseat.

The boy was bleeding badly from his nose and face and was in equal disbelief by my Father's courageous act!! We drove him home and we went home ourselves.

The only thing my dad said to me, in typical fatherly love, was, "Do not EVER do what I just did."

And he meant it!

But it was too late - his courage and actions in the face of unknown danger and violence that night has never left me and it burned in my memory!

I will never forget it and my Dad, who was already me Hero prior to that evening, was indelibly solidified in my "Hall of Fame of courage" and invincibility!

After he passed away, we were going through boxes of his things with my Mom. Not surprisingly, we came upon a certificate dated in the early 1950's on Boston Police letterhead.

The letter was a commendation for Bravery awarded to my Dad after he jumped into a freezing Boston Harbor one night on foot patrol (long before his Sargeant/Lieutenant days) to save a man who had fallen into the drink.

My Dad never told me about it, never mentioned it to my brothers and sisters, and for his Bravery he received the citation from the Mayor of Boston along with 3 vacation days!

All of us has that same courage within us -- but it is a question of whether we will let it shine through in that very moment it is needed that remains a mystery.

Pray that if an when the time comes and we are called upon by fate to display that courage we all possess, that we can rise to the occasion like my Dad, Edward J. Flaherty did his whole life!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.

- Joseph Campbell

Think about it. How great is life in that we can do anything we want or desire to do with our lives. There are no limitations or restrictions to following our dreams.

Sure, we all have made certain choices and decisions in our lives that have brought us to the point we are today, and it may be great or it may be less than desirable, but the point made above is we ALL have the power to change it all.

What is it you want to improve in your life? Well, set out on a path TODAY to make that happen.

Shed the old skin indeed.... nothing says you have to stay the way you are today!!!

Start with a mental shift and attract positive forces to you, and you will experience ALL you want our of life!!

Get your STAY STRONG T-SHIRT!!

These ten great inspirational sayings about life come from diverse cultures and times. These sayings of inspiration represent the thread of enlightenment and compassion that has always run through the greatest among us, and are, to me, the best of the best.

This above all, to thine own self be true.- William Shakespeare

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.- Confucius

Happiness depends upon ourselves.- Aristotle

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.- Lao Tsu

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man... the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.- Chief Seattle

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.- Rabindranath Tagore

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.- St Francis of Assisi

There are no facts, only interpretations.- Friedrich Nietzsche

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.- Albert Einstein

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.- George Bernard Shaw

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.- Joseph Campbell

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.- Joseph Campbell

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.- Helen Keller

Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others.- Helen Keller

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.- Helen Keller

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance. - Anonymous

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.- Confucius

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.- Marie Curie

Life is a long lesson in humility.- James M. Barrie

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.- William James

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.- John Lennon

No one knows what he can do until he tries.- Publilius Syrus

As we light a path for others, we naturally light our own way.- Mary Anne Radmacher

There are no facts, only interpretations.- Friedrich Nietzsche

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.- Rabindranath Tagore

To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.- Theodore H. White

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... It's about learning how to dance in the rain.- Vivian Green

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for that part of me you bring out.- Roy Croft

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the Spirit.- Kahlil Gibran

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Where there is great love there are always miracles.- Willa Cather

Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.- St. Francis of Assisi